Page 7 of Just a Little Crush
“Were you knocked unconscious?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
Behind me the guys prep the extraction kit; the cutters and spreaders we use for accidents like this, but that will take too long. I need her out of there now.
“Bec, keep your hands over your face.” She does as she’s told and I pry the driver door open too, grunting as the metal bends beneath the heavy limb of the tree that is blocking most of my access. I push up underneath it with my back and it’s just enough, I can get her from here. I crouch back down and reach my arm around behind her lower back. Gripping her hips, I manage to shift her bum out sideways so I can pull her clear from the space.
I slide one arm around her waist and the other cups beneath her thighs. Glass falls all around her as I keep her tight to my chest and carefully pull her out. Finally free, l step back and drop to the floor in a spot clear of the wreckage.
“Alistair, what the hell are you doing?” the Watch Manager shouts, but I don’t give a fuck.
“I’ve got her. She’s fine, she’s fine.” I pull Bec closer and she curls into a ball in my lap. Relief washes over me and finally I take a proper breath. Looking back at her car, I can’t believe she ever fit into that tiny space. She’s lucky to be alive, but she’s safe with me now and that’s all that matters. I hold her face in my hands, look into her eyes, and stroke her cold cheek.
“You’re OK, you’re OK, I’ve got you, I won’t let you go,” I whisper, and Bec bursts into tears.
5
Rennie
“No,Ihaven’tbeenable to see her yet, but I’m not leaving here until I do.”
After several calls and messages, I’ve managed to track down Louise and Mike, Bec’s parents, to their campervan in Croatia. My mum and dad are just as shocked as they are, and they’ve all gathered around the phone for updates. It’s taken twenty minutes to fill them in with our dads throwing questions my way, our mums bursting into tears and consoling each other.
“My baby,” Louise sobs in my mum’s arms.
“She was awake when the ambulance left, Mrs Charlton, I’m sure she’s OK.” I’m trying to be as reassuring as I can, but the truth is my heart rate is flying and I’m pacing the waiting room floor. I need news as much as they do.
“Alistair, I’m looking up flights,” her dad waves his iPad around in the background, “we’ll come right home away.”
“Let’s wait and see how she is,” I say. “You know she’ll be upset if you all change your plans for her.”
An only child, Bec’s always been close with her parents, and she told me it took a lot to convince them she’d manage on her own while they took this trip. I know they’re just looking out for their daughter, but it pisses me off how much everyone still treats Bec like a kid.
“I’m looking for Rebecca Charlton’s next of kin,” a male voice calls.
“That’s me.” I stand and the doctor takes in my uniform, confused. “Well, I have her parents on the phone. They’re abroad.”
“And you are?”
“Her friend. Her oldest friend,” I blurt out.Go on, try and stop me from seeing her, I dare you.
“It’s fine,” her dad says, squeezing into frame. I hold my phone out for the doc to see. “Let him though.”
“Are you someone who could take her home?” the doctor asks.
“Yes,” I nod. “Absolutely.”
“OK, follow me.”
“I’ll call you back as soon as I can,” I say to her folks.
“Give our girl a hug and tell her we love her.”
“Of course, Mr Charlton.”
“How many times do I have to tell you it’s Mike? Now go.”
The hospital corridor feels a mile long. The final stretch is like wading through wet sand. I’m shown to her end cubicle and I rush to her side, taking her hand in both of mine. She looks so helpless lying propped up in bed. Her right arm is wrapped up in a sling, her foot in a padded boot elevated on two pillows. They’ve cleaned her face up a little, but she looks pale and exhausted and no fucking wonder with what she’s been through today.
